Weak euro zone bank profits not ECB's fault - de Guindos

FRANKFURT: Weak euro zone bank earnings are more due to structural faults, such as high costs and excessive competition, than the European Central Bank's negative deposit rate, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Monday.

"Negative rates have been quite relevant, quite impart in order to foster economic activity. And this improvement in economic activity over the past two year, before the slowdown ... has been something very positive in term of the profitability of the banks," de Guindos said.

"The low profitability of the banks clearly goes beyond the potential impact of negative interest rates. I think that the low profitability of banks in Europe has to do with structural factors," de Guindos told the European Parliament's committee on economic affairs in Brussels.